They say that time flies when you’re having fun, and those words could not have been more true for the first half of 2016. The final event of Season 3 was held on June 25 at the fast and fun race track known as Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The stage was set in the famous #13 Clockwise configuration where drivers from all over Southern and Northern California took their machines to see how they can measure against other fellow Honda track-enthusiasts. The weather forecast showed that it would reach well over 100°, but as always, that did not stop our 63 participants from making the long trek to join us for the final show down of Season 3.

Group N2 – 16 Drivers

1st: Jose Mejia – Integra – 2:04.995

2nd: Robert Choo – Civic – 2:05.209

3rd: Tomas Perez – Integra – 2:05.493

The N2 class had the closest battle for podium with the top three drivers being only a few tenths from one another. In First Place, Jose Mejia #69 led the class with a time of 2:04.995 in his new N2-spec Integra. Jose competed in Group A2 until the previous round at Streets of Willow where an unfortunate mishap caused him to retire the previous car. Nevertheless, we love the fact that he was able to bounce right back and once again become a serious contender in a new class. In Second Place was Robert Choo #44 from Chewerks in their EG Civic with a time of 2:05.209. Rob spends most of his time operating Chewerks which is where many Vtec Club drivers get their cars aligned and suspension dialed in. Even with his busy schedule, we are glad to see that he is still able to take the time and actively compete in the series. Finally in Third Place, Tomas Perez #15 in his LS-powered Integra, was able to finish with a time of 2:05.493. Tomas is one of our newest competitor this year and he is definitely one of the faster drivers who to keep an eye on.

Jose MejiaRobert ChooTomas Perez

Group N – 20 drivers

1st: Sean Mulyanto – S2000 – 2:02.092

2nd: Scott Dukeshire – TSX – 2:03.566

3rd: David Ishida – S2000 – 2:04.285

The battle between FFs and FRs proved to be alive and well during the Round 5 event. In First Place is the dominant Sean Mulyanto #73 from Team Chewerks in his S2000, which is now sporting a new Individual Throttle Body setup. Sean was far from his personal-best time but he was able to run a fast enough time of 2:02.092 to beat the rest of the field. And in Second Place we have Scott Dukeshire in the “grocery-getter” TSX with a fast time of 2:03.566. Scott’s TSX is actually one of the most fun cars to watch around the track being that it rotates so well, largely thanks to his ASR rear sway bar kit. In Third Place came David Ishida #35, who is also from Team Chewerks, with a time of 2:04.285. David has been steadily improving this whole season and seeing him on podium is accredited to all the hours that he spends practicing at the track.

Sean Mulyanto

Scott DukeshireDavid Ishida

Group A2 – 21 drivers

1st: Matt Rojana – S2000 – 1:57.352

2nd: Joel Etrata – Integra – 1:58.614

3rd: Kwiook Moon – S2000 – 2:00.011

A2 had the biggest field of competition during the Round 5 event. This class also has its mix of close battles between FFs and FRs. For First Place, Matt Rojana #545, from Ballade Sports, once again showed off his talent behind the wheel by putting down a fast time of 1:57.352. Matt has been co-piloting a team member’s car during the last few events while his personal S2000 undergoes a few changes, which we can’t wait to see! In Second Place, we have Joel Etrata #160 in his K-Powered Integra sedan, finishing the day with a fast time of 1:58.614. And in third place we have a newcomer, Kiwook Moon #725, in his J’s Racing-inspired S2000, with a time of 2:00.011; so close to that sub-2 mark!

Matt Rojana

Joel EtrataKiwook Moon

Group A – 6 drivers

1st: Tom Liang – Civic – 1:54.791

2nd: Nik Romano – Miata – 1:56.185

3rd: Edo Stepanyan – CRX – 1:58.352

Group A is known as our unlimited class, so we can expect to see some fast times be put down by all sorts of cars in this group. In First Place, we have Tom “Attack” Liang #25, in his K-powered EF Civic, with the fastest time of the day — 1:54.791! This is a new personal best time for Tom and his K20 Type-R engine is essentially stock! We can’t imagine what he can do once he decides to starting adding some go-fast parts. And in Second Place, Nik Romano #125 piloted the Indotech “S2K-Miata” and ran a time of 1:56.185. Nik had to trouble-shoot a few bugs in the morning which unfortunately made him miss the earlier and cooler sessions. And in Third Place, we have Edo Stepanyan #07, in yet another K-powered Civic (CRX) with a time of 1:58.352. Although Edo’s CRX has a K-swap, he has mentioned to us that it is the low-hp K series which is only putting out 160hp. Despite the power disadvantage,we are glad to see that Edo was still able to finish the day strong.

VTEC Club USA

VTEC Club is an all-Honda time-trial series that is based in the road-courses of Southern California. We are proud to be the host of the largest and most active competitors for a one-make time trial series and we welcome all driving levels to take part and experience the fun, friendly, and competitive atmosphere of the VTEC Club series.